Season Preview: Can Leicester maintain good form under Shakespeare?

Previous season 

After their miraculous title win the previous campaign, Leicester’s defence of their crown got off to a poor start. An opening day 3-1 defeat at Hull set the tone for what was the beginning of the end of Claudio Ranieri’s reign at the King Power Stadium. The Italian was relieved of his duties in February and replaced by Craig Shakespeare, who quickly steadied the ship as Leicester ended the campaign a respectable 12th. Indeed, had the season started upon Shakespeare’s appointment, the Foxes would have ended 6th and it was no shock that the 53-year-old was handed the managerial role on a permanent basis. 

Leicester again kick off the new season, this time with Friday’s visit to the Emirates Stadium, where they face Arsenal. The Gunners have won only one of their last seven matches on the opening weekend of the campaign and the Foxes may fancy their chances of landing a positive result in north London. 

Transfer summary 

Leicester have spent well in key areas in the off season, with the capture of Kelechi Iheanacho perhaps the stand out arrival. The young Nigerian has scored 12 goals from just 19 shots on target during his two years in the Premier League and eases the goalscoring burden on Jamie Vardy, though the 20-year-old may miss Friday's visit to Arsenal through injury. Vicente Iborra is an effective capture in the middle of the park, while Harry Maguire provides solid competition with Wes Morgan and Robert Huth for a starting spot at centre-back. Eldin Jakupovic and youngster George Thomas have also signed for the former champions. Jakupovic has come in as Ron-Robert Ziegler’s replacement, but there have been no notable departures at present. Of course, that is likely to change before the close of the window, with Riyad Mahrez heavily linked with a King Power Stadium Stadium exit. 

One to watch - Wilfred Ndidi 

It may have taken them six months to replace N’Golo Kante, but Leicester’s capture of Wilfred Ndidi proved to be an inspired one at the turn of the year. The Nigerian youngster took to the rigours of the Premier League with consummate ease and made 68 tackles in 2017, a return bettered only by Kante (71) this calendar year. On the back of a full pre-season and a summer to really acclimatise to the demands of his new boss and England as a whole, the 20-year-old is set for a big season in the Premier League. 

Predicted finish - 8th 

Leicester have made some solid signings and have, at the time of writing, kept their key stars at the King Power Stadium. If the Foxes can make a running start to the new campaign, then a top-half finish is a likely outcome for Shakespeare’s side.